Charleston International Airport

The airport is operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority under a joint-use agreement with Joint Base Charleston. It is South Carolina's busiest airport; in 2023 the airport served over 6.1 million passengers in its busiest year on record. The airport is located in North Charleston and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown Charleston. The airport serves as a focus city for Breeze Airways. It is also home to the Boeing facility that assembles the 787 Dreamliner.

Charleston International Airport
Baggage claim in terminal
IATA: CHS ICAO: KCHS FAA LID: CHS
Summary
Airport type	Public / military
Owner	Charleston County Joint Base Charleston
Operator	Charleston County Aviation Authority
Serves	Charleston
Location	North Charleston, S.C. (US)
Operating base for	Breeze Airways
Elevation AMSL	46 ft / 14 m
Coordinates	32°53′55″N 080°02′26″W / 32.89861°N 80.04056°W / 32.89861; -80.04056
Website	iflychs.com
Maps
FAA diagram as of January 2021
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 7,000 2,134 Concrete 15/33 9,001 2,744 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Total passengers 6,153,540 Aircraft operations 122,653
Source: Charleston Co. Aviation Authority, Federal Aviation Administration

In 1928, the Charleston Airport Corporation was founded and purchased 700 acres (280 ha) of land previously belonging to a mining company. Although privately developed at first, the City of Charleston floated bonds in 1931 to acquire a portion of the site for passenger service. Within ten years, three runways were paved and outfitted with lighting for nighttime operations. In World War II, control of the airfield passed to the United States Army though civilian service was allowed to continue to use the airfield. After the war, the airfield reverted to civilian use for a short time. In 1949, a new passenger terminal was built.

During the Korean War, the airfield was reactivated for military use and in 1952, the City of Charleston and the United States Air Force reached an agreement on control of the base and the runways—an arrangement that has been renegotiated over time and that continues to this day. In 1979, the civilian portions of the airport were transferred from the City of Charleston to the Charleston County Aviation Authority, which had operated two other airports in the area. The current terminal on the south end of the airport was built in the 1980s on land acquired by Georgia Pacific.

 

In October 2009, Boeing announced that it would build a major plant on 265 acres (107 ha) at the airport as a second final assembly site for its 787 Dreamliner commercial aircraft. The facility began limited operations in July 2011 and rolled out its first completed aircraft in April 2012. Additional facilities to complement aircraft assembly have since been announced by the company.

Since 2010, the airport's passenger figures have doubled. New services established by additional airlines during this time along with increased services from the three legacy carriers have contributed to this growth.^{[citation needed]}

In 2021, the newly established Breeze Airways announced that the airport would serve as a focus city for the airline and announced service to 11 cities.^{[citation needed]} In 2022, the airport authority announced a 20-year master plan for future growth of the airport, including the constructing of an additional concourse, adding up to 11 new gates, providing additional plane stands, and expanding parking facilities for vehicles.

The airport has had brief periods of international service. In 2001, Air Canada briefly served the airport from Toronto but ended service immediately after the September 11th attacks. Porter Airlines briefly served Charleston with flights to Toronto in 2015. In April 2019, British Airways launched a seasonal route to London's Heathrow Airport using a Boeing 787. This was Charleston's first scheduled transatlantic flight. The first season ended in October. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service never returned. In 2023, Air Canada announced a return to Charleston with daily nonstop flights to Toronto beginning in March 2024.

 

The airport consists of four general areas: the military area to the west, the airline terminal to the south, the general aviation area to the east, and the Boeing assembly area further to the south. The combined airport area of Charleston International Airport and Charleston Air Force Base covers 2,060 acres (830 ha) and has two runways: 15/33, 9,001 ft × 200 ft (2,744 m × 61 m) and 03/21, 7,000 ft × 150 ft (2,134 m × 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2019, the airport had 118,211 aircraft operations, an average of 324 per day: 42% commercial, 28% general aviation, 16% military, and 13% air taxi. In May 2019, there were 81 aircraft based at this airport: 28 single-engine, 6 multi-engine, 43 jet, and 4 helicopter.

Joint Base Charleston owns and operates the runways at the airport and has an agreement with the Charleston County Aviation Authority to allow civilian use of the field. General aviation services are operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority. Boeing South Carolina operates the Boeing assembly area.

Terminal

 

The current airline terminal completed a three-year, $200 million redevelopment project in 2016 which added five gates and significantly renovated the interior appearance of the facility. The original terminal was built in 1985 and was designed by Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff, Davis & Floyd, Inc., and Lucas & Stubbs.

Both departures and arrivals are located on the same floor, with the departure area to the east end of the terminal and the arrival area to the west end. Flights depart from two concourses: Concourse A towards the east and Concourse B towards the west. Since 2015, a consolidated TSA security checkpoint is utilized for both concourses. Charleston International Airport is classified as a security-level Category I airport by the TSA. The airport is equipped to handle international flights.

Concourse A contains eight gates (A1, A2, A2A, and A3-A7) that are primarily used by Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection, with other airlines occasionally using gates as needed for overflow. Concourse B contains ten gates (B1-B10) and is used by other airlines serving the airport. Concourse B also contains the international arrivals facility.

Ground transportation

Charleston International Airport is located near the interchange of Interstate 26 and Interstate 526 and is accessible from both interstates using International Boulevard and Montague Avenue exits. The airport offers a free cell phone parking lot for passenger pickups. For short-term and long-term parking, the airport offers surface or garage parking for up to 30 days. Rental cars from major companies are available. The airport completed a rental car pavilion adjacent to the terminal in 2014.

CARTA, the regional mass transit system, serves the airport with one bus route that operates seven days a week.

• CARTA Route 11 is a local service that connects the airport to downtown Charleston with several stops along Dorchester Road and Meeting Street in North Charleston. Total trip time from the airport to downtown is usually 50–55 minutes.

Passenger

Cargo

Airline market share

Top destinations

Annual traffic

• December 31, 1946: A Douglas C-47 operated by Inter Continental Air Transport crashed after a missed first approach. He attempted to remain visual while flying below a 500-foot (150 m) ragged ceiling. Flying over dark, heavily wooded terrain, the left wing struck treetops, lost control and crashed 3.1 miles (5.0 km) NW of Charleston. All five occupants (three crew, two passengers) perished.
• March 14, 1947: a Douglas DC-3 operated by US Airlines approached Charleston low and left of the runway, struck trees 3,800 feet (1,200 m) from the runway, crashed and burned. Both occupants were killed.
• August 23, 1955: A USAF Kaiser-Frazer Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar impacted a tree and crashed after a takeoff for a night flight in a residential area, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) SE of Charleston AFB. A fire erupted, destroying several homes. Reports said one engine was on fire when the crash occurred. Five of the 11 occupants on the aircraft were killed and four on the ground died.
• October 3, 1956: A USAF Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashed on approach 0.9 miles (1.4 km) NW of Charleston AFB when the pilot descended below minumums, struck trees and crashed. Three of the 10 on board were killed.
• September 18, 1979: A USAF Lockheed C-141 Starlifter caught fire after touchdown at CHS when the landing gear retracted along with several other mechanical issues occurring at once. The aircraft was destroyed, but there were no fatalities.
• November 2, 2020: Joel T. Drogomir was arrested on a charge "conveying false information regarding attempted use of a destructive device" after he falsely threatened to have a bomb.

• List of airports in South Carolina